


Come Back

by Anonymous



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Sex, Angst, Blow Jobs, Canon-Typical Violence, Comedy, Fight Scenes, Fluff, Hand Jobs, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), No Manga Spoilers, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Sanji and Zoro deal with Feelings(TM), Sex, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, mostly as in Zoro and Sanji typical ‘this-cannot-be-happening’ denial angst, only really bad wounds, set vaguely after the timeskip, the Strawhats being a caring and crazy family, the poor boys are so horny and frustrated omg, there are NO major character deaths in this story, violence isn't too graphic but i'm setting up the warning just to make sure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 23:08:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29990223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Sanji's convictions have ended up harming the crew more than he ever expected. Zoro can't stand the way the cook seems to slowly lose himself after this. Can he manage to bring him back? (Zosan and rated M for further chapters, just in case)(This story was originally posted by user smileysoul on fanfiction.net between 2014 and 2018. All credits go to them. Since it is a masterpiece of a fanfiction, I am reposting it here. It is 52 chapters, +500k words long, and is already complete.)
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 24
Kudos: 92
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Rage Takes Over

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally posted by user smileysoul on fanfiction.net between 2014 and 2018, and was recently deteled for some reason. All credits go to them. A very kind person who prefers to not have their name revealed saved it all and sent it to me, and I thank them very much for that.
> 
> This fanfic is a work of art and deserves to be preserved in the fandom. It is beautiful, intense, exceedingly well-written and so very much in character that it took my breath away. We need to keep this. I want more people to be able to read it, so this is why I am reposting it here. This story deserves it.
> 
> Be prepared for a +500k words, 52 chapters long slow burn story which is already complete. I plan on posting a chapter per day so as to give new readers a chance to keep up with it. All notes at the end of the chapters were written by smileysoul themself.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

...  
  
Zoro was standing there, eyes wide open, clutching his swords for dear life, the moment frozen in front of his eyes, almost as if time had stopped to care to tick by.  
  
"You bastard, I'm gonna fucking kill you!" Sanji raged, flying next to him as if possessed, running to kick some ass. Well, not some ass. That bastard's ass.  
  
And as he passed by him, pushing time ahead, everything went back into motion.  
  
The swordsman could no longer take his sweet time to stare as a big powerful sword dragged both his katana and his attention to the hit aiming at his chest. Zoro blocked it just in time, the attack reverberating through his bones. Zoro growled lowly, much like a beast, and forced his enemy to retreat a bunch of steps back so that he could have time to unshield Wadô and get serious as he placed the beloved white sword in his mouth in time to block another blow.  
  
Focus, he ordered himself. But there went his eyes. Nami was lying on the floor, coughing something dark, sticky and disgusting. Blood. A flash of blond, and his attention switched again. Sanji kicked his ignited leg against the enemy's weapon, putting all of his strength into making him get away from Nami. He could see a pulsing vein on his neck, his muscles flexing, rage and hatred obscuring his eyes.  
  
Yoong, that was the bastard's name, let out an excited bark of laughter and dodged before letting go of his weapon and charging fists first against the blonde, who fell to his hands and let his legs go wild in a spinning inferno, clashing against Yoong. Their enemy grunted but managed to get a hold of Sanji's leg in mid-air, sacrificing his left side which was left open to the blonde's attack. Despite the killing intent Sanji put in the kick, Yoong held his ground and forced his weight on the cook, who easily escaped from his grasp and put some space between them, panting.  
  
"I'm gonna shove my foot up your..."  
  
"Cook!" Zoro warned, too late.  
  
Sanji felt something slamming against him and then he was violently thrown away only to feel his back crash against what was left of a wall, sending a wave of intense pain down his back. The cook only had time to hiss before a delicate but strong hand squeezed his neck and slammed him against the wall yet again. Sanji held his breath and swallowed his first instinct of kicking around. Only because this other persisting and now unwelcome instinct of his told him to stop and simply not attack because...  
  
"Not you..." he groaned.  
  
Well, because she was a woman.  
  
"Oh, yes, it's me indeed, blondie", a brunette smiled, almost touching his lips with hers.  
  
A cruel and senseless smile sent shivers down his spine, it was that dark. Lust for violence, lust for cruelty, that's all he could see in the beautiful woman's features. And that was really something to say, coming from him.  
  
"Let me go," he begged. It's not like he was going to order a woman around.  
  
He could see Nami laying there, Yoong kneeling next to her and looking intently at him with a smile playing on his lips, teasing, as if saying 'Should I kill her now? Should I make her suffer?', but still waiting, making the moment insufferable. Desperation owned him and he was already struggling, something he would have never done in a woman's hands before. But there he was, fighting back yet not kicking, not being able to hurt her because, damn it, he simply couldn't do it.  
  
"Let me go!" he roared, sending his gentleman manners to hell. So much for not ordering women around. But he was already damned.  
  
The brunette smiled wider.  
  
"Nope," she answered, amused. Then, not taking her eyes of Sanji's, "What should we do, Yoong? Should we start by ripping her wicked hair out of her head? Strand by strand?"  
  
Yoong smiled behind her and Sanji's mind went wild with panic.  
  
"Don't you fucking dare touch her!"  
  
But then Yoong was sent flying, a punch still deforming his face when he hit the ground meters and meters away from the redhead.  
  
"Don't go hurting my nakama!" Luffy hollered, and charged against him.  
  
He didn't even know where Luffy had come from, he was supposed to be fighting elsewhere, but hell if Sanji wasn't happy and relieved that he was there, to the point where he was already thinking of how much meat he'd need to cook to repay this. Because he had been utterly useless, he had to remind himself. He hadn't been able to get Nami out of there before Yoong pierced her stomach with his weapon because he was being held down by that unnamed brunette who just kept smiling at him in what could only be described as an evil way. He hadn't been able to kick or push her away, he had only been able to desperately watch as his beloved Nami fell to the ground screaming. He himself had screamed at the top of his lungs, making his throat go numb. And then he had found an opening, had run away from his captor and had tried to defend Nami from a second attack just to be dragged back by the woman that was now squeezing the air out of his lungs, leaving marks on his neck.  
  
And he still couldn't do a damn thing.  
  
Useless, he thought of himself. A fucking disappointment.  
  
Despite the looming dread, as Nami was now in good hands, he felt himself relax a little, fixing his eyes on the brunette's ones with a less of a panicked manner.  
  
"Damn useless Yoong," she was muttering, imprinting her anger in her hold, which was tighter and tighter around his neck. He choked a bit.  
  
"You're evil," Sanji managed to get out of his mouth as he was being strangled, not even struggling anymore.  
  
There wasn't a point to it.  
  
Nami didn't need him now, so he didn't need to go against his nature anymore. He hadn't been able to when it had truly mattered and Nami's life had been on the line, so he most definitely didn't have the right to do so now when it was only his life he had to worry about. He wouldn't kick a woman, not even to save his own life. And he had already failed the redhead. If that was what he had to face for not being able to protect his beloved ones, then so be it. He had always known that if he ever died fighting it'd be against a woman he wouldn't even have fought back. The thought made him smile at the irony. He could already picture the moss-head laughing in front of his grave for being too damn weak and the biggest idiot ever. Mocking him even when already dead. If he even bothered visiting his grave, that is. Not that he would. The guy hated his guts just as much as he hated his and why the fuck was he even thinking about the damn marimo during his last breath?! He rushed his already numb and oxygenless mind to think about beaches and ladies and tiny swimsuits but then he heard the annoying voice.  
  
"What the fuck are you doing cook?! Defend yourself!"  
  
Sanji almost barked a laugh. Well, he would have if there had been any air left in his lungs. His vision went blurry. Damn it. Definitely not the last voice he wanted to hear.  
  
Zoro retreated and launched again against his own enemy with a snarl on his face.  
  
What was the cook doing? Did he want to get himself killed or what? But he already knew no fighting back was going to happen. It was a woman after all. The one who had been fighting Nami before seeing through the cook and switching places with Yoong. And now that same woman had him pinned against a wall, strangling him to death... If he wasn't already dead. Sanji hadn't been moving much for a while... Oh, no way in hell was he gonna let that idiotic bastard die like this!  
  
He already felt the anger towards the blond rising in his chest, he already felt the fire and the raging urge to punch him in the face. He was definitely not letting the blond die until he had his fist introduced to Sanji's curly and stupid face and vice versa. He wondered if he could make his nose as curly as his freaking brows. A stupid thought to have when facing your own enemy and living under the uncertainty of two of your nakama making it out of this one alive or not. Fuck.  
  
And then he was cutting through flesh and bones and running past the already defeated enemy, who didn't even see him coming and fell with a shocked expression on his face. And he was almost there, and he could already see the light leaving the cook's eyes, and all he could think about was what an idiot Sanji was and how angry he was at him. So fucking angry he didn't even put his brain to work when his sword went through the brunnette's chest from her back and stopped inches away from Sanji's.  
  
Sanji could only see black. Suddenly, the strain in his neck lightened as he felt a soft hand slip down to his chest and then fall down. He swore he had heard a bloody and sticky cough but, then again, he couldn't really tell. He tried to give himself the instruction to breathe, but he didn't manage to get air into his lungs and gagged and whinced. Then there were glimpses of green flashing irregularly in the blackness of what was his current inexistent vision. Oh, man, he knew that particular annoying green. And he also knew the voice. By heart.  
  
"Oi, shit-cook! You better fucking breathe or I'm gonna fucking kick the air into your motherfucking lungs and shove it down your nostrils!"  
  
Sanji felt like laughing. What the hell was that? That was rude and unnecessarily packed with swear words, even for Zoro, and it sounded stupid and absolutely ridiculous. But then he felt a strong hand laying flat on his chest and slamming him to the wall with brutal force, making something click inside him. He abruptly started to cough, the air filling his lungs like punches and waves altogether.  
  
Zoro let go of him and struggled to loosen his tie with unsteady hands, giving the cook room to breathe in and out. The cook's gaze started to drift from far away to reality, and Zoro knew he had him back. He released a breath he didn't even know he was holding, and the fact that he felt relieved only increased the angry rage inside him in turn. He had never wanted to kick somebody's ass so bad and he wasn't even the one in charge of the badass kicking in their crew.  
  
"You're an idiot," he muttered, barely restrained.  
  
Sanji was still coughing, all red and needy for oxygen, batting Zoro's hands away and getting rid of the tie Zoro had started to loosen. Zoro felt his temper worsen. He didn't even bother to ask himself why.  
  
"You're a fucking idiot!" he declared again, this time yelling with broken rage, completely uncontroled. "I'm gonna seriously kill you, you bastard!"  
  
"Shut up," Sanji snapped, partly regaining his composture. "Damn moss-head. As if you could."  
  
Zoro was about to reply and let hell break loose when Sanji swept a startled look around him and desperation wiped his features, effectively shutting Zoro up as confusion took over rage.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nami?" the cook half asked. Then he saw her and stood up but Zoro held him down by his wrist.  
  
"Chopper will kick your ass and tell you to go away," he warned in a calmer tone that tried to soothe Sanji's reeling mind.  
  
Sanji then noticed that Chopper was already treating Nami, running around her, poking, frowning and deciding what to do next while trying not to freak out himself. Zoro had just realized the reindeer was there as well, therefore the delayed warning, and they both knew Nami was Chopper's right now. Yet...  
  
"I don't give fuck," Sanji snatched his arm from Zoro's hold and headed to where the readhead was restraining her tears and bracing herself in a fetal position.  
  
He saw her face bathed in traitorous wetness, all bloody and sweaty, black bags already forming under her eyes, and he felt something heavy drop inside him.  
  
He hadn't protected her. He hadn't been enough to protect her.  
  
Useless.  
  
"Nami, my dear..." he whispered, astonished and overwhelmed, not knowing what to do for the first time in years.  
  
"Sanji, please go away. I need space to work with," Chopper commanded, sounding professional and calm. But their doctor was trembling. The wound was serious, he could see it in the reindeer's face.  
  
"But Chopper..."  
  
"Mhmm?"  
  
"Will she... Will she be okay?" he asked. He sounded like a little strangled birdie. And he totally felt like one.  
  
Chopper didn't say anything and resumed his work, the silence falling over him like a sharp kitchen knife piercing his chest. Sanji's shoulders fell and after realising his mind was blank and that he was actually doing nothing useful, he took some steps away, unsteady, trembling, weak. At one point he forced himself to turn his back to them in order to go and do his goddamn job: get more enemies he could kick the asses of, which was what pretty much everyone in the crew was doing as he stood there like a statue. Useless. Just when he lost sight of the wounded redhead, he heard Chopper's voice.  
  
"It's not your fault."  
  
Something strained his heart so bad it hurt. It hurt so much. He fought away a weird wetness in his eyes he was no longer familiarised with and headed to where he thought he'd find a good oponent he could pour his anguish on.  
  
Zoro watched the blond's back walk away, the fury inside him only being fueled with every step the cook took. He couldn't stand him. He couldn't stand how the idiot had let himself almost be murdered by someone just because she had tits and a nice face. He couldn't stand how he assumed it was his responsibility to protect all the ladies around him when they could actually fight for themselves. He couldn't stand how his eyes had looked lost and empty when he had approached Nami with only guilt and shame reflecting in his face. He couldn't stand how his shoulders seemed to fall to the ground, his pose no longer proud and straight and badass, but defeated and tortured instead. Zoro wanted to cut something. He needed to cut something before he'd cut the cook's head off his shoulders in his rage.  
  
A far away cry told him that Usopp was having trouble with his opponent (which would turn out to be a horde of trained assassins mounted in wicked carnivorous horses when he'd tell the story later on while praising himself for being such a brave warrior and, oh, weren't they lucky to have him in the crew!) and Zoro finally moved from his spot, practically dragging his body, willing to help if that meant he could do some harm and let himself go for a while.  
  
TBC


	2. Forgive Me

...  
  
Nami opened her eyes to see the infirmary's ceiling, blurry and unfocused. A wave of pain shot her where she knew a sharp weapon had pierced her body.  
  
Ugh, damn it, she had been too slow and didn't react in time even though she had seen it coming. She told herself that she should be more careful from now on, and then took a moment to let the fact that she was still alive sink in. She had honestly assumed she was done for. She had heard Sanji cry her name with a desperate hoarse and broken voice, had seen a glimpse of Zoro freezing where he was, his own enemy launching an attack on him, had heard Chopper cry and run around her, had seen Luffy destroy Yoong while yelling like a mad man just like he always did when he got really pissed off.  
  
The redhead forced herself to overcome the sharp pain and sat up straight. Were the others alright? Then she caught the sight of Robin sitting on a chair next to her bed, eyes shut. She looked like she was sleeping, but Nami knew better. At the very most, she was half asleep. It's not like the brunette would keep her company and let herself fall asleep, not while she was keeping an eye on her.  
  
"Robin?" she squeaked.  
  
The archaeologist snapped her eyes open and looked at her, surprised and then calm again, her lovely half drawn smile lighting her features up.  
  
"Nami," she nodded in a greeting. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Quite bad, actually," Nami managed to answer with a light humorous smile. She had learned the humorous way to face hard times in that crew. "But hey, I'm alive."  
  
"Our doctor did a good job, you'll be fine in his hands."  
  
"Never doubted it. Not even for a minute,"Nami agreed. Once in his professional hands, or should she say hoofs, she had been sure the reindeer would do anything to get her back in good shape.  
  
A thought crossed her muddled mind and worry overtook her.  
  
"Robin..."  
  
"Sanji is blaming himself," the older woman announced before she could ask, apparently reading her mind. "We've all insisted it's not his fault but I think he's pretty much torturing himself over it. He told me to call him when you woke up, he's probably going to make a fuss out of it. Be ready to receive all the flowers he can gather and find apologizing love letters everywhere in the ship."  
  
Nami snorted, shaking her head.  
  
"Thought so. But it's really not his fault."  
  
"Make sure you tell him and he'll probably feel better about it," Robin suggested, helpful as always. "I'm going to get Chopper so he can check on you. Then I'll call Sanji and the rest."  
  
"Thanks, Robin."  
  
"I'm glad you're fine," Robin added with an unexpected streak of sincere concern and relief. "You had all of us worried here."  
  
She smiled at her and Nami smiled back, weakly, before letting herself rest again in bed, waiting for the doctor to come.

"Cook. Booze."  
  
Sanji heard the door of the galley creak and wrinkled his nose in distaste at the annoying voice at his back. He heard the moss head's steps reaching the place he had the sake stored in, no surprise there, that was predictable. Before Zoro could react he had a foot slammed against the door the swordsman had intended to open, effectively blocking his way before he could sack their supplies.  
  
"Oh. Look. Little Marimo here managed to read my mind," Sanji mocked, showing a pissed-off half smirk.  
  
"What."  
  
Zoro looked at him, both annoyed and unimpressed, but he stayed in place.  
  
"Come here," the cook motioned. "I was actually looking for you. Good timing."  
  
The swordsman looked at the place he knew he'd find his precious booze, now marked with a dent on the door, courtesy of Blackleg Sanji. Then he fixed his suspicious stare on the cook, who was heading towards the kitchen counter with his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Booze," he insisted flatly, not one to give up.  
  
"If you don't want my foot shoved up your ass you better come here just about fucking right now."  
  
Zoro rolled his eyes at Sanji's usual rudeness and surprisingly did as he was told, keeping the distance, wary, hoping that if he behaved he'd have his booze as a reward. Sometimes it worked with Sanji. Only sometimes.  
  
"So?"  
  
A plate full of onigiri was slammed on the countertop right in front of him. If it hadn't been Zoro, he would have probably been startled at the sudden aggressive gesture. One he sure as hell wasn't expecting. A kick in the face was always a possibility when it came to his interactions with the cook, but a plate of food being shoved at him out of the scheduled times was a first.  
  
"What's this?" he managed to ask in between his slight surprise.  
  
"Can't you tell? Do you need a sketch, maybe a beautiful drawing explaining it? It's called food. You're supposed to put it in your mouth, chew and then..."  
  
"What for?" Zoro interrupted him with a suspicious glare. Now he was officially alert and waiting for the trick Sanji would pull out of his sleeve any time.  
  
The cook snorted and leaned against the counter, lighting a cigarette and letting the smoke fill his lungs. Suddenly he looked uncomfortable and out of place, his eyes wandering somewhere else as he seemed to look for the right words.  
  
"You saved my ass back there," he muttered, visibly annoyed and embarrassed that he had to admit it out loud. Zoro was surprised that the blond wasn't kicking his head while talking. "Mywaytothankyou,bastard," he rushed.  
  
And then he shut up and turned his back to him as if there had never been a conversation going on between them.  
  
Zoro blinked once, twice, now three times.  
  
"You got a fucking fever or something?" he asked, not quite getting the picture. The idea of the cook thanking him was a joke, what the hell was up with him? Cussing-annoying-insufferably-loud Sanji he could deal with, but grateful-and-showing-it Sanji? Had the world gone nuts? How was he supposed to react now? There was something called patterns and traditions and routine in this life, an utterly useful set of assets to make life easier and less of a train wreck: hadn't Sanji heard of that before growing a second personality Zoro didn't know how to deal with?  
  
"You wanna eat this or do I directly shove it down Luffy's mouth?" Sanji threatened, sounding really, really, really pissed off. "At least he'll appreciate my divine cooking, nothing I expect a caveman like you to do. I don't even know why I bothered-"  
  
"Fine, fine! Stop bitching, I'm eating it, damn it!" Zoro barked, possessively protecting his treat when Sanji tried to snatch it away from him. "Sissy moody shit-cook..."  
  
"And what the fuck was that, you fucking asshole!" Sanji roared, ready for a fight.  
  
Zoro would have had to unshield at least two of his swords right there and then to defend himself from the raging blonde if Robin hadn't walked into the room at that very same moment. Sanji's features instantly softened in front of Zoro's eyes, his shoulders falling again, his eyes apprehensive and dead worried. How he could switch from a raging inferno to a vulnerable guilty-looking defeated man Zoro couldn't understand, but damn if that simple gesture didn't make the swordsman want to punch Sanji in the face with everything he had to bring him back to normal.  
  
"Robin, is she..." Sanji babbled, his voice unsure and oh so guilty.  
  
Robin smiled a cheerful smile and nodded.  
  
"She's awake and she is fine, Sanji. Chopper is now taking a look at her. You can go there and wait until he finishes, she wants to see you."  
  
Sanji let out a shaky breath he never realised he was holding and relief bathed his worried features, setting them at relative peace.  
  
"Thank you, Robin, my dear," he bowed, a weak but polite smile on his face.  
  
Then he rushed out of the galley letting Robin affectionately pat his shoulder, for which he dedicated her a string of adoration claims and flirtatious remarks which no longer had the force and passion they used to. That made Robin frown as soon as he was gone. A worried look appeared in her eyes as she realized the cook was really not being himself, at least not at full. It was starting to get worrying. He had been acting like this since Nami had gotten hurt.  
  
The woman turned to face Zoro, who was frowning while stuffing his mouth with onigiri, refusing to let his gaze wander to any place that wasn't the ever so interesting countertop. Well, if the swordsman wasn't truly pissed off.  
  
"Did our cook prepare these for you?" she asked out of curiosity.  
  
Zoro nodded without looking at her.  
  
"Weird indeed," she commented to herself, knowing she'd have more luck trying to start a conversation with a rock than with the swordsman.  
  
When she was about to get out of the galley to announce the good news to their captain, she changed her mind and turned to Zoro yet again. Trying was never a waste of time.  
  
"Sanji's not being himself," she stated.  
  
Zoro snorted.  
  
"Oh, really?"  
  
"He's feeling guilty for what happened to Nami."  
  
The green-haired man finally lifted his gaze and fixed his eye on her. Oh, yes, no mistaking it now, Robin thought. He was angry as hell.  
  
"I know."  
  
Robin nodded and finally left, leaving the swordsman alone while he finished eating the onigiri which, he had to admit, were edible. Edible? What the fuck, they were the best onigiri he had ever shoved into his mouth! Not that he would ever admit it out loud, though.

"Sanji, I told you to get out!" Chopper screeched, fighting against the hand Sanji held against his face, keeping him at bay.  
  
"Just a minute Chopper, please."  
  
"No! I am doing my job and I told you-"  
  
"Nami, how are you feeling?"  
  
Nami smiled, pale and tired but still half laughing at the scene.  
  
"Not at my best but I'm fine, Sanji," she said in a reassuring tone.  
  
Sanji gulped, trying to get the words out of his throat while despising himself for letting this kind of situation, where he would have to apologise to a woman for not being able to protect her, happen.  
  
"Nami, I..."  
  
"Okay, you wait a minute there," Nami stopped him holding a hand in the air, frowning and defying. "I'm warning you, I'm gonna increase your debts a 10% every time I happen to hear "sorry" go out of your mouth until you become even more indebted than Zoro, and that is something to say, believe me."  
  
"But Nami..."  
  
"I don't want to hear it," she sentenced, glaring at him to tell him it was an order. "It's not your fault, it never was, and if I happen to see you sulking and feeling sorry because of this, not only will I actively work on increasing you debts until Zoro's are a joke compared to yours, but I will also kick you in the mouth. With my high heels. Is that clear enough?"  
  
"Nami is scary~" Chopper cried out, backing off and finally letting Sanji have some personal space.  
  
Sanji let a hand slip through his hair, feeling frustrated as ever, trying to make her understand but knowing that being the lovely angel she was she wouldn't let him blame himself for it, even though that was the only thing he could do. No looking away this time, no escaping his mistakes. He never had and wouldn't start doing it now.  
  
"Nami, listen to me just for a minute... please?" he begged. When she sealed her lips, giving him time to formulate his thoughts, he went for it, rushing before she changed her mind. "Let me say it just one time. Just once. I need it, I really do, so please, I'm begging you, let me at least apologize this one time. It's the least I can do."  
  
Nami let her eyes explore the blond's visible blue one and her chest tightened when she saw he was wrecked.  
  
"If it makes you feel better, go ahead," she conceded. But then held a finger in the air. "Just once."  
  
Sanji nodded and felt a knot in his throat. Then kneeled and bowed his head, pride forgotten.  
  
"I am sorry, Nami. I really am. I can't stand that I couldn't protect you, that I couldn't do anything because I am too weak and couldn't get that woman off me, not even for you. I hate and despise myself for it and I keep wondering what kind of man I am that I let you get hurt like that... And I hate this situation and I hate to see you hurting this bad," he let out in a hushed, pained and embarrassed voice. "So, sorry. I really am. I really mean it. Will you forgive me?"  
  
Nami sighted and pinched his nose for good measure.  
  
"Point number one: protecting me is not your responsibility anymore, I can take care of myself and I was just too slow so, really, it was my own fault for not being careful enough. My battle, my mistakes," she crashed her whole hand against his mouth, preventing him from saying otherwise, which he was going to. "Point number two: stop sulking. It's not your fault and I don't want a depressed chef on board. Point number three: what you should be worrying about is the fact that you almost got yourself killed because you didn't even try to defend yourself against a woman, but that's your choice and we all know how you feel about it, so there's not much I can convince you of. Point number four: you're not weak by any means. You are part of the Monster Trio for crying out loud! Point five: I order you to stop feeling miserable about it and I'll take it personally if you don't obey me in this. Point number six: there's really nothing to forgive, but if it really makes you feel any better, then there you go: I forgive you, Sanji. Happy?"  
  
Sanji looked at her as if he had seen God himself descend from the skies surrounded by a gospel choir of hundreds of angels.  
  
"Nami, you're so..." he started, overdramatic tears crowding in his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now get out of here before Chopper gets-"  
  
"Nami! You're awake!"  
  
Sanji was pushed to the side and unceremoniously thrown against a wall as a horde of idiots invaded the room, Luffy leading the procession like the crazy kid he was.  
  
"How are you feelingdoyouwaNTMEAT?!"  
  
"Nami, you're awake! How super is that?!"  
  
"Nami! Now that I think of it, I haven't told you yet! Did you know I was fighting a horde of trained assassins mounted in wicked carnivorous horses and I won all by myself with just one finger and a threatening glare?!"  
  
"Usopp, that's not true, it was one man alone and Zoro had to come to rescue you!" Luffy protested, pointing at him with an accusing finger.  
  
"That's what we told you, because I normally don't boast about my victories as I am the commited discrete hero-type, ya know."  
  
"Woaaaah Usopp! How cool is that!" Luffy and Chopper screamed at the same time, proceeding to adore the long nosed man with shining stars in their eyes, Nami forgotten for a second.  
  
"Yohohoho! Nami, may I see your panties?"  
  
"What the fuck did you say you shitty bonny bastard!" Sanji raged, kicking him in the head.  
  
"I was being polite!"  
  
"No, you weren't, damn it!"  
  
"Nami, you look much better, we really do have a super doctor here!"  
  
"Shut up, bastard! Stop complimenting me, you're not making me happy, you goddamn asshole! And you two, stop fighting! No fighting in my infirmary!"  
  
"I'm just trying to relocate this guys' afro, see if he finally gets to use his brain!" Sanji defended, his hand already grabbing Brook's afro with the full intent of leaving him bald.  
  
"Just that I have no braaaaaain! Yohohohohohoho!"  
  
"Hahahaha, Brook you're so funny! Skull jokes!" Luffy cheered like a three-year-old.  
  
"Out of my infirmary! Now! You're disturbing my patient!"  
  
"You heard that, bastards, you better get out of here before I kick you asses!"  
  
"Sanji, you too."  
  
"Wha- why? Chopper that's not fair! I wanna stay, I want be of help to Nami!" Sanji complained, a betrayed look in his face.  
  
"Then go make her something to eat!" Chopper ordered.  
  
"Oh! That's right, you're so clever Chopper!"  
  
"Stop complimenting me, asshole~!"  
  
"DID I HEAR MEAT FEAST?!"  
  
"Luffy, what the actual fuck."  
  
"We're throwing a party! Captain's orders!"  
  
"No, we aren't."  
  
"OUT OF HERE!"  
  
"And then the assassins came all at once, ready to cut my head, but guess what, Nami-"  
  
"Nami, want me to bring you meat or not?!"  
  
"Luffy don't interrupt my story, dammit!"  
  
"No, thank you Luffy."  
  
"Well, more for me. Sanji! Meat!"  
  
"I'm not cooking for you, you damn black hole! It's just for Nami!"  
  
"But Sanjiii~"  
  
"Yohohohohohoho!"  
  
"OUT!"  
  
Some punches and a hoofed kick slamming the door later, the infirmary welcomed the much needed silence. Nami sighed, half laughing and half feeling relieved her crazy crew had stopped piercing her ears with screeching noises.  
  
"Can I stay?"  
  
They both turned to Robin, startled. She was wearing her usual smile, hands held behind her back. They hadn't seen her come back but neither of them bothered to ask when she had come in or if she had been there all along. Chopper nodded, already feeling tired with all the ruckus they had just gone through because 80% of the crew didn't seem to undestrand words like "patient", "rest" or "doctor's orders". And why the hell did they have to yell while talking? Did they know the meaning of indoor voice?  
  
"Oh my, they're loud," Robin chuckled, sitting by Nami's side. The redhead laughed and nodded. "What about Sanji?"  
  
"He looked better after apologizing. Though I told him there was no need."  
  
"Thought so. It's so like him."

After kicking the shit out of Brook for having been rude to Nami and being nice enough to spare his beloved afro, kicking Franky in the face for being too loud, ordering Usopp to shut the fuck up and playing tag with Luffy as a condition for his captain to leave him the hell alone while cooking, Sanji finally made it to the galley in order to cook for his beloved redhead. His visible eyebrow raised in annoyance when he saw a certain moss-head, who had fallen asleep with his head resting on the empty plate where there once had been onigiri. Really, just how much of a caveman could that moss-for-brains be? Before he registered what he was doing, he had a foot plastered against the other man's cheek, causing the idiot to jump and almost fall from his chair.  
  
"What the fuck!"  
  
"You slept on the plate I am going to wash," Sanji explained with a deadpan expression that did wonders to fuel Zoro's irritation. "Get out of my kitchen. I'm gonna cook for Nami."  
  
Zoro snorted and did as he was told but not before getting a hold of a sake bottle. To his surprise, Sanji didn't stop him, but said instead: "Go see Nami. She's awake."  
  
"I already heard before."  
  
"Then fucking go visit her, you mannerless bastard."  
  
The swordsman rolled his eyes.  
  
"I will when Chopper lets us in again. I heard all the ruckus and I highly doubt Chopper won't smack me in the face if he sees me showing up there."  
  
"Okay, whatever, just do it. It'll make her happy."  
  
"Yeah, sure, she'll be dancing and jumping around and puking rainbows when she sees me because we're such good fr-"  
  
Sanji turned to glare at him, and it was a threat. Zoro couldn't help but smile teasingly and caught a glimpse of a similar gesture in Sanji's face before the blond looked away.  
  
"Puking rainbows..." the cook repeated, amazed. Next sound he let out reminded Zoro of a chuckle.  
  
Zoro's grin grew wider and then he left the cook alone but not before half turning and saying:  
  
"By the way, they were good."  
  
When Sanji turned around to look at him, he was gone.  
  
What was that just now? What was good? He squeezed his eyebrows, confused both at the tone and at the words. Was he talking about the onigiri? Wait, was the moss head actually praising his cuisine? Sanji had to suppress an incredulous bark of laugh. Nope. No way in hell. Zoro would never say something good about the food he fed them. Not even the day Sanji managed to elaborate the best fucking dish in the goddamn world would a nice word come out of Zoro's mouth, that was a fact just as firm as Nami's boobs. Wait, had he just made that kind of comparison? Oh, well.  
  
He ended up shaking the thought out of his head and concentrating on cooking something that would make Nami smile since he had so much to make up for.  
  
He definitely didn't keep on wondering if Zoro had actually thrown a compliment at him or not.  
  
TBC


	3. The Calm Before the Storm

...  
  
1.  
  
2.  
  
3.  
  
A glimpse of blond strands caressed by the breeze.  
  
110.  
  
111.  
  
112.  
  
Smoke rising from a cigarette lit with suave and precise motions.  
  
344.  
  
345.  
  
346.  
  
The galley door closing after its king.  
  
2372.  
  
2373.  
  
2374.  
  
"Robin, love, and you horde of cavemans, get your butts over here, lunch is ready!"  
  
A storm of rubber limbs, fur and a long nose ended up stumbling in front of the blonde, who stopped them with a kick in each idiot's face without as much as blinking. Sanji ignored the complaints of his captain, the sniper and the doctor of the ship, who were currently being laughed at by both Franky and Brook, and waited for his black-haired flower to walk in first, bowing and melting in stupid-sounding love declarations.  
  
Annoying.  
  
2409.  
  
2410.  
  
2411.  
  
A kick in the head.  
  
Oh, well.  
  
"Do that again, cook, and I swear I'm gonna cut you in half."  
  
"Do what? This?"  
  
A stronger kick in the head.  
  
Zoro gave up counting his repetitions and angrily threw away the weights he'd been working with, leaving a dent on deck much to Franky's despair. He could swear he heard the man screeching. Sanji blocked his sword with the sole of his dress shoe and the most annoying smirk he could pull. Zoro's brow twitched automatically in response.  
  
"When I say 'you horde of cavemans, get your butts over here, lunch is ready' it also includes you, moss head."  
  
Then he used his damn flexibility to lean even closer to Zoro, invading his personal space without his leg trembling one bit, flexing to a point the swordsman swore was not physically possible. His attention switched to the nose almost touching his and then to the pissed-off blue iris regarding him from a higher angle.  
  
"Did it sink in or do I need to kick the concept into your one-cell-brain?"  
  
"Go. To. Hell," Zoro spat.  
  
"Yeah, that's probably where I'm gonna end up being thrown to, but not yet, Marimo. Not yet. I plan on living longer," Sanji shrugged, letting some air flow between them by removing his leg and dodging Zoro's half-assed blow with a slight backwards jump.  
  
Seeing an opening, the cook's hand flew to get a grasp of Zoro's haramaki and drag the unwilling shirtless swordsman behind him. Zoro snapped his hand away and met a pissed-off look that distracted him from the foot that inmediately kicked his ankle and made him fall to the ground.  
  
"AAAGH! Dammit, fucking let me go, shit-cook!" he roared with a vein in his forehead about to explode with anger and humiliation.  
  
But said shit-cook was already unceremoniously dragging him by the ankle and only stopped when he met a bunch of stairs and Zoro's behind had smacked the lowest step.  
  
"Not gonna drag you up there, moss head," he announced wearily. His voice was cut by a fuming swordsman who stood up and grasped his suit in a fist and clashed his own forehead against the blonde's with a fury-possessed expression. "Fuck! That hurt!"  
  
"You totally deserved it, fucker!" Zoro growled with his face almost plastered to the cook's. Sanji started to fear the vein in Zoro's forehead would really explode.  
  
"Agh, man, you stink! Fucking go clean yourself before coming in for lunch! If you don't smell at least half decent you are not allowed in my kitchen."  
  
"You really do seem to want your ass kicked."  
  
"I'm the one in charge of kicking asses here, excuse you."  
  
"Dammit Luffy stop eating others' food!" Usopp's scream reached their ears from the galley and Sanji went purple, much to Zoro's amusement.  
  
"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I FUCKING TOLD YOU TO WAIT FOR EVERYONE TO BE PRESENT BEFORE YOU EAT, YOU DAMN HUMAN VACUUM?!" Sanji roared, stomping into the galley with a murderous aura that caused Chopper to shriek in panic and Usopp to ask for mercy even when this time he wasn't the one to blame.  
  
Zoro couldn't help but laugh out loud at the murdering sounds coming from the cook's realm. He still could half hear Luffy protesting and Sanji beating the shit out of him when he entered the bathroom.  
  
That was more like Sanji. An unconscious smile curled his lips upwards.

Zoro entered the galley when everyone was already leaving to take a nap, play tag, repair the deck, play some music, keep on researching that new formula they had been working on or tell big stories nobody really listened to. The swordsman found his portion of food intact on the table, waiting for him. He had to mentally praise the cook for being able to keep it away from the black hole they had for a captain and for actually bothering to fight over it. Not that he was going to open his mouth to show any signs of gratitude, though: he was Roronoa Zoro, the one he should be thanking was Blackleg Sanji, and they hated each other's guts, so nope.  
  
He sat down and started to shove the food into his non-grateful-at-all mouth. It took him a while to realize that Robin was still there, helping Sanji clean the dishes with sprouts of hands here and there. Zoro felt an eyebrow rise when he noted that it was weird enough to see the cook letting one of his beautiful flowers help with mundane chores he always did for them. Agh, since when did he pay so much attention to what the cook was doing, or what was usual for him to do and what wasn't?!  
  
"Sanji..."  
  
Zoro raised his head again when he heard the archaeologist thoughtfully call the cook.  
  
"Yes, Robin, love?"  
  
"May I ask you a question?"  
  
"Sure, my flower," Sanji conceded with a smile of his own. The kind of bright smile he only drew for Nami and Robin. Though weaker. Zoro frowned when seeing the gesture with half the force it used to have.  
  
"What's bothering you?"  
  
Straight to the point. That was something Zoro liked about the woman, even though she was kind of creepy sometimes. The flinch in Sanji's shoulders didn't go unnoticed by the swordsman, who frowned even deeper and stopped eating. They didn't seem to have a problem with him being in the same room as them as they talked, so they wouldn't mind it if he took the time to properly listen to the conversation.  
  
Sanji stopped his work, rinsed his hands and turned to face Robin with a bothered look on his face.  
  
"Nami," he managed to answer.  
  
That tone. That fucking defeated tone. The defeated look. That defeated pose. Oh, how he wanted to punch that bastard in the face and bring him back somehow. That was so not like him. He had been acting like this for a while now. And that annoyed Zoro to no end without even understanding why. But didn't everything the cook say and do annoy him? But that did far way more than annoy him. That infuriated the hell out of him and made something dangerous boil in his stomach, for no sensible reason.  
  
Half a second later Sanji regained his composure and lit a cigarette, exhaling smoke and relaxing to it, going back to his usually proud and confident stance. The bothered look stayed, though. Well, at least he didn't look like a defeated man anymore. Zoro felt his shoulders relax a bit and waited for the cook to explain himself, partially placated.  
  
"What about Nami?" Robin helped, gently.  
  
"She's our navigator and she won't be able to do her job for a while in this state. Chopper said she'd need at least a week of rest without getting out of bed."  
  
Both Robin and Zoro understood where this was going and the implications of what their cook was saying, an uneasy feeling blossoming in the pits of their stomachs.  
  
"This crew needs her in shape," Zoro agreed, voicing their thoughts out loud.  
  
Sanji looked at him for the first time since he had come in and nodded, serious. He had a calculating and troubled look now while holding his cigarette between two fingers near his lips, which he was biting.  
  
"Have you sensed anything weird?" Sanji carefully asked after a while, looking at both of them intently.  
  
Zoro looked at Robin, assuming she'd answer, and she looked back, doubtful.  
  
"You mean about the weather?" he ventured when Robin didn't open her mouth. If the topic was related to Nami it had to be something about the weather, he thought.  
  
Sanji nodded at him again, clearly waiting for an answer he... feared?  
  
Robin looked back at Zoro. Zoro didn't have anything else to say. That's as deductive as he was getting today. When she couldn't find an answer in his now lost stare, she fixed her eyes at the ceiling with her brows slightly furrowed.  
  
"Well... We've actually been having quite a nice weather for the past few days. Not a single cloud," she said. And she suddenly looked as bothered as Sanji as she shared a look with him.  
  
"So?" Zoro grunted. He wasn't getting shit.  
  
"May I remind you we're in the New World?" Sanji snapped with an expression that read: 'can you be more of an idiot?'. "We're supposed to be facing crazy weather nobody understands, supernatural nature disasters and all this shit we haven't been through for a while now," then, turning to Robin, "Excuse the language, Robin, my flower."  
  
Zoro felt his good eye widen a bit, the information sinking in. Now that they mentioned it... Not a single rain drop, not a damn cloud, not a wave troubling them. Well, if that wasn't weird... But wasn't that good for them?  
  
"Not even a Sea King bothering us, indeed," Robin muttered, deep in thought. "How do they call it? The calm before the storm?"  
  
Something clicked inside his brain. He looked straight up at Robin and then at Sanji, who was also letting his gaze wander between the two of them, tense.  
  
"You mean something's coming our way?" Zoro asked.  
  
Not that he was afraid, he definitely wasn't, but they were in the freaking New World and if something was to happen now in the middle of that vast and crazy-as-hell ocean, they'd have to face it without Nami. And much to his annoyance, he had to admit that the redhead was the only one who could get them out of trouble when their enemy was a storm, the wind or gigantic waves capable of sinking a whole fleet. Not to be a pessimist but if something was up with the weather before Nami could lead their moves, they were most likely screwed.  
  
"That, or we are on our way to that 'something'," Sanji said. "Not that we can know for sure. It may just be me being too sensitive about the whole situation and maybe we'll just get to the next island without much of a problem but..."  
  
"No, I think you're right," Robin cut him. "The wind hasn't been as strong today. Just a breeze. And the sky..." she walked to the window, taking a peek to see if her assumptions were right. "...is a different blue. Deeper. Awkwardly so."  
  
"Maybe we should just ask Nami. See if your thoughts are correct. If something's up she'll have already sensed it," Zoro suggested, stuffing his mouth with a forkful of pasta.  
  
"She would have already said something if she had," Sanji shook his head in a dismissive gesture.  
  
"So? If she hasn't said anything, there must be nothing to worry about," Zoro reasoned.  
  
"She's drugged and sleeping most of the time, moss-head, how do you want her to sense a damn thing? And since she is in the infirmary she can't even see the weather either," Sanji snapped again, visibly irritated at Zoro's slow reasoning. "We'll have to manage alone if something happens, and we better be prepared because there's no Nami leading us this time."  
  
Robin sighed and nodded.  
  
"We'll have to keep our eyes wide open," she agreed. "If we notice something, even if it seems ridiculous or unimportant, we say it."  
  
"Good. But I wouldn't tell others," Sanji thought out loud. "We'd just make them worry, maybe without a need. And, even if they knew, half of them would just freak out and become a burden, and the other half wouldn't give a damn until they had a gigantic wave in front of their noses."  
  
Both Zoro and Robin nodded, mentally classifying their crew members in those two groups with unfazed ease. That sounded pretty sensible, actually.  
  
"And unless things get really weird or we are in immediate danger, we must absolutely not drag Nami into this," the blond turned specifically to Zoro, pointing at him menacingly. "Understood?"  
  
Zoro gave him the finger but still shook his head in agreement a few seconds later as he resumed eating.  
  
"We don't want her unnecessarily worried. Right now she needs to get better at all costs."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Shit's talked about, let me finish my food."  
  
"King of politeness strikes again," Sanji mocked, rolling his eyes.  
  
Robin chuckled and then headed outside.  
  
"I'm gonna take a look at Nami's maps and notes about the New World, see if I can get something out of it. I will tell you if I find any useful information."  
  
"I'll be waiting, my beautiful flower! Thank you so much! And don't worry, if something happens I'll..."  
  
But then his voice got cut and a strange expression crossed his face half a second before he let a dish slip from his hands and crash to the floor.  
  
"Oh, my! Excuse my rudeness, Robin, darling! How could I be so clumsy!" he immediately excused himself while bending to get the broken bits, effectively hiding his face behind a curtain of hair.  
  
Robin blinked at this and risked a glance at Zoro, who was currently eyeing his knife with murder intent, a popping vein decorating his forehead.  
  
"Don't worry. Thank you for warning us, Sanji," she said quickly and smiling. Then she left the two men alone.  
  
Sanji had just finished cleaning the mess he had made when he heard his 'favourite' voice addressed at him.  
  
"Oh, how clumsy of you."  
  
It sounded an awful lot like the voice Sanji would pull when talking to his ladies. It did sound stupid, to be fair. At least coming from Zoro. Just that the dose of sarcasm and somewhat resentment was considerably high in the way the swordsman chewed his words, turning it into a rather aggressive comment.  
  
"Shut the fuck up," Sanji snapped back.  
  
Zoro looked at him but Sanji was only showing him his back. The swordsman could easily complete the sentence that had been left mid-air: "If something happens I'll protect you" or some shit like that. He had heard the cook say that again and again and again, always meaning it, always staying true to his word and actually backing it up with actual action and results, always confident.  
  
Now he couldn't even bring himself to say it. Zoro bit his lip to prevent himself from standing up and beating the shit out of him for no evident reason.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
The swordsman managed to get a hold of himself and brought the empty dish to the kitchen counter when he felt pretty confident of his capacity to restrain his violent urges towards the cook.  
  
"Do you really think we're getting into shit?" he asked in a low voice.  
  
Sanji finally turned to him and stared directly into his steel eye, nothing but honesty in his blue one.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Zoro found himself sighing. "Oh, well. We've managed worse before." He brought himself to draw an encouraging grin despite the urge to punch the cook.  
  
He got his little reward when Sanji naturally grinned back mirroring his confident gesture, looking like himself once again. If he could just always stay like this... If he could just not disappear every now and then when he wasn't careful enough as to hide the sad, defeated eyes he didn't recognise as the cook's... Zoro wondered if there was any way to keep the expression he was currently showing plastered to his face forever, confident, defying, ready to kick ass. And then proceeded to slap himself mentally. Several times. And hard. What the fuck was he thinking?!  
  
"We'll manage," he rushed, suddenly feeling awkward.  
  
Sanji chuckled half heartedly but still nodded.  
  
"Sure. Now get out of my kitchen, Marimo. I need to cook Nami's lunch."  
  
Zoro frowned at him but kept it light as he had caught a glimpse of humor beneath Sanji's words.  
  
"Zoro."  
  
Said man stopped just before leaving, turning to face a half serious blonde.  
  
"Keep your eye extra open. You have to compensate for the useless one."  
  
Zoro showed him his middle finger in all his glory, scowling like mad, but Sanji could hear his strong deep laugh after the door closed behind him with a thump. That made Sanji let out a soft genuine smile.  
  
TBC


	4. The Wind

...  
  
The sun raised as it always did, painting the sky with reds and oranges and violets that took over the blackness and the dark blues, stars still shining faintly and the moon being just a hint that it had been there. The ocean turned gold and reflected the light like a still and huge mirror always facing the sky.  
  
A certain cook woke up to the scene filling his lungs with the first cigarette of the day, leaning against the rail of the still asleep Thousand Sunny. The smoke managed to dissipate upon him but the breeze was so faint it couldn't take it too far away. The calmness was so solid one could almost take a bite of it and chew it. It was too calm. Sanji's eyebrow twitched at the thought.  
  
When he finished his first smoke, he headed to the kitchen and started planning the day's breakfast, which would be better than the day before but never better than the day after as he didn't accept anything else than to keep improving and getting better. Luffy would say it was delicious as always but Sanji could tell the difference and took his moments to feel proud of his little achievements.  
  
But today it felt forced.  
  
Today he had to make an effort to concentrate and find that little detail that would make it better. It had been happening ever since Nami got hurt back in the last island, back when he had let her get hurt because he was too weak to protect her. Funny enough, the strong conviction he proudly lived by, never hurting a woman, not even if he died, ended up letting a woman he cared about get hurt. It sucked and it haunted him in his sleep and during his times alone with his thoughts, a pattern that was beginning to wear him down.  
  
Luckily enough, his dark thoughts were disturbed when he heard the familiar sound of combat boots stomping downstairs to the deck. Time for the crew's resident moss ball to do his crazy morning training. Sanji concentrated on the fried eggs he was currently working on, his attention back to improving his culinary talent and being distracted from his previous line of thought. Thankfully. There's only so much self-pitying and self-despising one can take before going nuts.  
  
Breakfast took a while as Sanji made sure there was something new and special in every dish, as he bothered personalizing each of his nakama's servings because it kept on distracting him and gave him something to think about other than how worthless and shit he was.  
  
A more rational part of him weakly tried to convince him that he was overreacting but 98% of his brain and chest and stomach constantly felt like shit when he thought about how he had let Nami get badly hurt. He blamed himself for all there was to blame while trying to find a way to amend things and not finding any. Nami had made it crystal clear that she didn't think it was his fault and that she didn't want him distressed over this, which had kind of helped him torture himself a little less, to find some kind of relief, but it never really made the guilt stored in his chest go away. It stayed there just like an anchor. And cooking was one of the things that made the weight lighter, even if it still didn't come out as natural as it normally would and he had to force himself to put the same amount of effort to make what he always did: fucking kill it because he was the coolest greatest chef, that is. Better approach, he congratulated himself. He could use some self-indulgence.  
  
Giving a satisfied look at the servings, he headed out of the galley and took a deep breath to call everyone for breakfast. He stopped for a moment, though, when his gaze met the back of the crew's swordsman tensing and flexing as he counted his billionth push-up, tensed bronzed muscles glittery and shiny and humid because of the sweat. When the "what the actual fuck" alarm switched on, Sanji realized he had been taking the view for far too long and made his presence noticed by lighting a cigarette. The swordsman only paused for the tiniest millisecond and then kept going with his repetitions as if he hadn't noticed Sanji after the weak 'click' reached his ears, which he had.  
  
"You better go wash yourself before coming in, you damn muscle-brain," Sanji announced in a flat tone, not expecting Zoro to stop with his training or to acknowledge his presence or words for that matter. Then he breathed in again and shouted for everyone to hear. "Breakfast is ready!"  
  
Hell broke loose somewhere in the men's quarters as they heard various war noises and, above them all, Luffy yelling "breakfaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast!" and some other intelligible garbage that only meant Sanji had to get ready to barricade the galley in order to stop their captain from storming in before everyone else and gulping everyone's food, plates included. Sanji rolled his eyes in distress and took the few precious seconds he had left before world war started to lay his gaze on Zoro again. To his surprise, he had stopped doing his 'warming up' and was now sat cross-legged on the grass, looking at him with serious eyes. Sanji didn't need the marimo to voice his thoughts out loud; his look was one of concern and it was exactly the same Sanji was now giving him. They had both realized how weak the wind was. How everything was too calm. A spark of understanding crossed both men's eyes. Both of them nodded to signal that they were in the same page, and fell into a wary stance.  
  
Just then, Luffy stomped out of the men's quarters and Sanji lazily took some steps back to the galley door with precise timing to plant the sole of his dress shoe against Luffy's face as he unguardedly attacked the door full-force, never seeing the chef coming before his foot was already plastered against his nose.  
  
Ah, routine, sweet routine.  
  
"Good morning, captain, my captain," Sanji greeted with a murderous smile.  
  
"Morning, Sanji..." Luffy whined in a defeated tone. Even he knew it was useless trying to fight Sanji when it came to protecting food. And there was only so much sneaking around he could do before getting kicked in the face for good measure. Which he had already.  
  
"Gah, dammit Luffy, you're always the same!" Usopp complained while heading towards them still in his pyjamas and a sleepy look on his face. "You almost destroyed my hammock! Can't you contain your morning enthusiasm a little?"  
  
"Sanji, I'm hungryyyyy!"  
  
"Well, too bad, because you'll just wait 'til everyone gets here and you'll shut the fuck up, is that clear enough?!" Sanji growled at him while kicking him again, this time just as a warning. Which Luffy needed, really. Then he thought of the way he usually addressed their captain as rather inappropriate (not that he gave a fuck really) and fixed it with a curt (and rather mocking) "Captain, my captain."  
  
Luffy scowled and looked at the blonde as if he was the meanest creature ever to step on Earth. When Sanji took none of his bullshit, he proceeded to pout and look like a starving puppy that hadn't been fed in months. Sanji didn't hesitate to illustrate exactly how many fucks he gave, which was somewhere below zero.  
  
By when their daily repetitive exchange had finished, Robin was already there and Sanji graciously opened the door for her and then 'kindly' invited the rest of the bastards who had finally gathered in front of him to come in and fucking behave, see if they learnt some manners and today, for a change, they didn't eat like pigs. Not like he was going to be any lucky, though. At the very beginning he had had the hope that, as they were all brainless morons, there'd be a lot of empty space in their heads to kick in some manners, but then it turned out that not only they had no brain at all but their skull was thick as fuck as well, so none of the gentleman knowledge and manners Sanji tried to relocate in them seemed to find a way in. In the end, he had just given up on hope. He hadn't stopped trying, though; karma better return this to him.  
  
Just before entering the jungle his kitchen had muted into, he turned to face Zoro.  
  
"And you better not-"  
  
"Don't worry, cook, I won't be skipping breakfast, so chill," Zoro snapped at him with a roll of his eyes as he started walking. "I'm just gonna wash. Bathroom. You asked for it."  
  
"Whatever, just come when you're finished. Nobody goes without breakfast under my-"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, now fuck off."  
  
Sanji felt the tip of his lip twitch in amusement and Zoro felt it just the same without even looking at him as an annoyed twitch of his eyebrow matched the cook's amused one based on pure instinct.  
  
"What now?" he growled, not even knowing why he was letting himself be dragged into the cook's shitty provocation, which he wasn't supposed to be sensing because he wasn't fucking looking, and yet he felt the stupid smile that promised that something equally stupid would come out of Sanji's mouth for the sole purpose of annoying him.  
  
"The bathroom's that way," Sanji pointed out with his lips trembling in an attempt not to laugh straight at the swordsman's face. So much for trying.  
  
Zoro's ears went red as he saw, felt and was stabbed with Sanji's fucking smug grin that could only be translated as a neon-light reading 'you're the king of idiots'.  
  
Sanji couldn't restrain himself anymore and started laughing like mad as Zoro enthusiastically flipped him off with a look that promised pain, though half as intimidating, as embarrassment had taken over the leading role dressing Zoro's face in deep red and the scowliest scowl ever.  
  
"How can you even... fucking get lost in-a fucking... ship you spend 24... hours in?!" Sanji managed between laughter, but Zoro was already stomping away and didn't give him the pleasure to answer to that.  
  
Such a shame. It would have definitely been fun seeing Zoro trying to justify that.  
  
When he sat down with the others, Robin sent him a meaningful look he grasped while dismissing one of Usopp's shitty lies and she casually commented:  
  
"Today is quite a calm day."  
  
Of course nobody else listened to the observation or, if they did, they gave it no much thought to none, but Sanji nodded with the same casual demeanor and they both confirmed that the other was aware of the weird and concerning weather issue. Good. They both needed to keep their attention sharp and ready.  
  
Speaking of attention, Sanji's was caught when Luffy stretched his arm to get Zoro's serving, but the cook was quick as lightning at kicking it away with a snarl and the promise of physical pain in his glare, which made Luffy retreat for a bit.  
  
"It's not your damn food, Luffy!"  
  
Just in case, he put the plate away from the table, not that Luffy wouldn't be able to get it if he really bothered to and stretched as he knew he could, but the gesture made his point clear and it still was safer.  
  
Sanji tried to ignore Robin's not so discrete chuckle.

Zoro put on some clean clothes and his ever present haramaki and emerged from the bathroom clean and refreshed, with his spiky green hair still wet. He still got a scowl imprinted in his face, embarrassment still making him try to come up with an excuse as for why he had gone the wrong direction to find the bathroom. Not that he would usually bother to justify himself anymore since, to be frank, he didn't really give a damn about other people's opinions on his sense of direction, but the cook, almost as always, was an exception. That damn blonde managed to get under his skin with barely a mocking smirk and his instincts automatically looked for ways to counterattack anything that came from him. So yeah, he had spent all of his quick shower time, which was meant to be relaxing, struggling with his brain cells to find a way to give the cook back all the embarrassment he had just gone through. Really productive. Specially really mature.  
  
But thinking about possible answers and revenges also led him to realize he hadn't seen that defeated look on the cook that morning. Which was good, he guessed. He hated that look so much he could barely bring himself not to punch the blonde straight in the face. He tried to picture the expressions he'd seen that morning on Sanji, but the closest one to the oh so hated look had been the concerned stare they'd shared for a second, which had nothing to do with the cook's shitty mood but with the weather problem they were currently bound to have. Aside from that, everything had gone smooth as always, same old morning routine, same bickering and reactions, same badass cook being stupid and badass along with the stupidity of everyone else as background noise.  
  
Zoro kind of felt relieved. Every time he caught a glimpse of that expression, something inside his stomach didn't set right. Every time he saw that, even if it had been just a few times since Sanji was probably the best goddamn actor he had ever encountered in his life, the cook looked like a loser. And Sanji was many things, but one that was definitely not in the list was 'loser'. Seeing him look like this was so out of place he didn't even know how to react to it. They hated each other's guts but, damn, every second Sanji let his guard down and his shoulders fell like that, Zoro missed his proud, over-confident, badass self so much it hurt and, most of all, pissed him off big time.  
  
Today he hadn't seen any signs, so it seemed alright. He didn't quite buy it though, he had seen the cook erase his feelings from his face quicker than he blinked. Him not showing hurt or pain or guilt or whatever he was going through didn't mean it wasn't there.  
  
Zoro sighed.  
  
And since when the hell did he, Roronoa Fucking Zoro, sigh? He ran a hand trough his spiky hair in an annoyed and exasperated gesture and headed to the kitchen, not that he expected there to be any food left considering their captain's antics when it came to gulping everyone else's dishes down. He could always ask for Sanji to cook something for him, he thought. All in all it was his job, as much as Sanji disliked him.  
  
But, contrary to what he expected, the cook wasn't in the empty galley when he walked in. Zoro frowned and made it to go look for him and demand food when he saw a plate set on the kitchen counter. He closed the distance between him and his discovery and found a little note by its side reading 'Marimo's serving. Luffy, if I find out you've eaten it, you're flying out of the fucking ship'. Very nice. Though it would have been useless since, if Luffy had walked by, he wouldn't have bothered to read the threat written in there before gulping the food down. Zoro found himself smirking at the note.  
  
The cook had bothered to fight for his ration... again. That kind of surprised him; he knew for a fact that Sanji wasn't exactly a fan of him and yet he had bothered... again.  
  
And then he realized something was off. He looked around to see what it was and found that none of the dishes had been washed. Weird. Not something Sanji would let happen in his kitchen. Zoro frowned and forgot about his breakfast as he got an idea of where the cook could be. Before he knew what he was doing, his feet dragged him to the infirmary, where he found his prize indeed.  
  
Just that it wasn't what he had wanted to find, really.  
  
Sanji didn't even sense his presence, he was totally absorbed in his thoughts. He was sat on a chair by Nami's sleeping form, probably drugged by the painkillers. Her expression revealed she was in pain and her breathing was shallow and weird. Sweat patched her red hair to her pale wet face. The plate full of breakfast Sanji had adoringly prepared for her was forgotten on a table nearby as she was in no condition to eat right now.  
  
But Zoro's attention wasn't on her anymore. He knew she'd struggle and that it must be quite painful, but he also knew the woman was strong, they all were damn it, they had gone through so much; all of them deserved a bit of credit for that, they were the fucking Strawhats! He knew she'd totally make it and he totally believed in Chopper, who had announced she was in no risk of dying whatsoever. He told them she'd struggle for a few days until pain calmed down and, if he had heard it right, she would be able to walk again and join normal life in a week or so. So, even if he didn't like to see her in pain and even if he had indeed frozen in panic when he had seen her be pierced, not knowing if she'd die or not back at that island (not that he'd admit it out loud, mind you), now he was sure she wouldn't, and he wouldn't worry more than needed.  
  
What really got him was Sanji's stance. There it was again. Fallen weak shoulders, an unlitt cigarette hanging from his unexpressive lips, an empty and defeated stare looking at Nami with so much guilt one could almost breathe it in, hands clenched together and slightly trembling. The figure of a defeated man who had gone and come from war and lost it all.  
  
What the fuck.  
  
Zoro's rage filled his lungs in an explosion of white and red and he had to clench his teeth and fists not to go and do something stupid such as rearranging the cook's face, though it sounded pretty appealing right now. He couldn't take it, he really couldn't. That wasn't the cook he knew. That wasn't Sanji at all. That was a poor excuse of the man's shadow. Dammit, even the bastard's shadow on a cloudy day stood prouder than that! The urge to bring him back hit him so hard that he had to restrain himself from going and violently shaking him out of it and shouting straight into his face to fucking come back to Earth.  
  
Instead, he did something he knew would set the cook's own rage on fire, which was about a billion times better than what he was witnessing right now.  
  
"So, how's the sea witch doing?"  
  
Sanji jumped about a feet in surprise, his shoulders back where they should be, his hands disentangled and suddenly steady. And then it all turned to pure rage that sent his whole body trembling, but for a completely different reason, when he slowly turned to face the swordsman, clearly containing himself and with a pissed as hell look in his face. Good. That was so much better. At least that was Sanji.  
  
"What did you just say?" he asked in a dangerous tone that promised some good kicking if Zoro didn't apologize for that.  
  
Well, Zoro would rather have him kicking shit than sulking, so...  
  
"You deaf? I asked if the sea witch is doing okay," he resolved, coolly.  
  
Totally knowing what was coming.  
  
"I'm fucking gonna kick your ass so bad you're gonna end up throwing up your apologies, you dumbfuck idiot marimo!"  
  
Sanji stood up and fisted his haramaki to drag Zoro outside and the greenhead didn't fight back until they were on deck, where he ducked a deadly kick aimed at his face.  
  
Zoro was pissed off as well. Sanji's defeated stance really did make him wanna break things, but a feral grin still escaped his lips as he unshielded his swords, seeing no more of that pathetic look, happy that he had brought the blonde to their meant-to-be territory, which was being badass motherfuckers stupidly fighting like idiots for nothing other than pride and the mere feeling of enjoying every bit of the fight.  
  
Sanji was Sanji again, which was all that mattered right now.  
  
Sanji spinned around, wiping the air with his long legs and making Zoro retreat only to contort his body when finding an opening and launching through it. The opening no longer existed though, as Sanji had already read his movement in anticipation and was now jumping up in the air with the damn moon walk thing that put Zoro at disadvantage. Not one to complain when a challenge was presented, though, Zoro redirected his blow and a cut scratched the mast just where the blonde had been suspended.  
  
Speaking of blonde, a curtain of gold hair invaded his vision when the cook managed to get close to him at surprising speed and threw a kick by his temple, which Zoro avoided by bending his body slightly backwards and cutting the air with his sword, aiming at Sanji's side. His attack didn't go as planned though, as the other foot of the blonde kicked his ankle and made him stumble and lose balance as he was still dodging the first attack. How the hell did Sanji do that? It shouldn't be possible for his foot to reach his feet when the other leg was still up in the air forcing Zoro to get away of his aim, not without losing his own balance at least. But then again, it was Sanji he was talking about. What he managed to do with his legs was something even science or anatomy experts wouldn't be able to explain, that he was sure of. So he fell and missed his blow and Sanji pinned him against the grass, lazily siting on his stomach with a pissed off look as he lighted the cigarette he'd ben munching on for too long.  
  
"So, what you are going to do right now, you damn marimo head, and you better listen-"  
  
A gasp escaped his lips and cut him mid sentence when the swordsman let go of one of his swords and used his upper body to force them to switch positions, and without as much as blinking he was siting on Sanji, having immobilized his legs so that he lost his most powerful weapon, pinning both his arms over the blonde's head with a single hand and pointing the edge of the sword at his throat with the other one.  
  
"Said what?"  
  
Sanji went all shades of red and Zoro swore that if glares could kill he'd already be buried somewhere far away without a proper funeral. That only caused his grin to grow wider, triumphant and cocky.  
  
"Go on, I was willing to listen, don't be shy."  
  
"You goddamn fucking shitty marimo! I'm fucking gonna kick your mossy head off your body and send it flying to the moon and back and I'm gonna fucking filet the rest of you until your fucking over-worked body isn't recognisable anymore and I fucking swear to God if you don't fucking get off me about fucking right now I'm fucking gonna-mph!"  
  
Sanji's rant was interrupted when Zoro's hand brusquely covered it, suddenly serious. He had been chuckling at the beginning at how colourful Sanji's language could become, but something had caught his attention and he was now wearing a concentrated and concerned look. Sanji tried to ask "what now?" but the sound was muffled by Zoro's rough palm on his lips so he tried a different approach and questioned him with his visible eye, starting to get worried. The pressure on his legs had evaporated as right now all the swordsman's efforts were set elsewhere. He was simply sitting on him, no force applied whatsoever. Sanji didn't shove him off though, instead, he waited for an answer. But Zoro's gaze was fixed on the sky.  
  
A drop of sweat fell from Zoro's jaw to Sanji's cheekbone near his eye and he blinked at the contact. Zoro's hand was still on Sanji's wrists but it no longer had the purpose of holding him down, it just rested there, hot and sweaty. The other laid on Sanji's mouth, testing the blonde's patience. He thought of sticking his tongue out of his lips so that he could lick Zoro's palm and force the bastard to back away but just as the thought crossed his mind (and, seriously now, what the fuck was he even thinking) Zoro looked down at him with a frown and worry in his open eye, searching something in his blue one and effectively freezing Sanji in place.  
  
Sanji looked back at him, straight into his eye, trying to guess what that was all about. Another sweat drop lazily slid down Zoro's nose to his tip and then fell on Sanji's forehead. And something finally clicked.  
  
Zoro found what he had been looking for when Sanji's eye widened in understanding.  
  
Somewhere in the same deck, not far away, Franky was cursing them and complaining about how they had scratched the fucking mast and the Thousand Sunny wasn't to blame that they were idiots, Usopp backing him up and Luffy laughing like mad somewhere else.  
  
Sanji's eye never left Zoro's.  
  
The greenhead removed his hand from Sanji's mouth, slightly brushing his lips, and Sanji barely opened them to voice the thought that was crossing both their minds out loud.  
  
"The wind..."  
  
The wind had completely stopped.  
  
TBC


	5. Saw it Coming

...  
  
"Shit"  
  
Sanji made to get the swordsman off of him but said man was already scrambling up, giving him space to regain his footing, and next moment they were both taking hurried steps towards Franky and the rest of the crew.  
  
"Have you seen Robin?" Zoro asked in a weird steady tone.  
  
Franky shot them a glare and started swearing and telling them off for actively destroying the Thousand Sunny every other day with their stupid fights, but was cut off when Sanji pinned him to the scarred mast with a foot planted against his broad chest.  
  
"Marimo asked you a question," he prompted. "Have you seen her?"  
  
Oh, man, was that Blackleg Sanji backing Roronoa Zoro up in an out-of-the-blue situation? Glad he'd lived to see it! The blue haired man raised an eyebrow at this and, instead of getting even more annoyed at the ruthless attack, he seemed to grasp something was off with the duo, because he forgot his complaints and gave them a curt indication:  
  
"I think she's at the aquarium... Maybe the library?"  
  
Blond and green stomped to the aquarium only to find Brook rehearsing with his violin and offering them a special private music show "yohohohoho". They both dismissed it with a wave and headed to the library, almost running now. Sky was still blue as ever, no clouds in sight, not a single wave, and no wind at all. Still kind of idyllic. Still felt dangerous as hell.  
  
"Robin!"  
  
The archaeologist lifted her gaze from the book she was currently reading, her expression surprised at first and then gravely understanding as she sensed bad news carried by a hurried-looking duo who walked her way shoulder by shoulder. Really, those two coordinating like this, just walking side by side without jabs, or kicks, or puns, or anything other than a common goal and worry in their eyes, could only mean something bad was forcing them to lower their tolerating standards towards each other. Which meant there was a need for them to cooperate, which they seemed to naturally do only when needed, and that usually was when the crew was fucked. So, yeah, bad news.  
  
"What's wrong?" she inquired, rapidly standing to save time.  
  
"Robin, dear, it's the wind," Sanji announced with a soft tone he only graced ladies with but still miles away from the one he would usually use with them. Which meant he meant business, which meant him sensing serious trouble coming their way.  
  
"What's wrong with it?" she asked again, trying to make them get things straight.  
  
"It's just not there," Zoro answered with a frown.  
  
There was something about the whole situation that really bugged him and, judging from the tapping of a dress shoe by his side, it also bothered Sanji, and not in a rational way. It was instinct and both of them trusted it with everything they had.  
  
"Wind has totally stopped blowing," Sanji nodded, lighting a cigarette with a nervous gesture.  
  
Robin frowned as well, her lip slightly pouting when thinking.  
  
"That is weird, indeed."  
  
"Not just weird, it's dangerous as fuck," Zoro corrected her with a huff. "I sense it. Something's coming our way."  
  
"Same here," Sanji agreed while scowling at Zoro for speaking to a lady in that tone. "I trust my gut. We both do," he added, taking a sided quick glance at Zoro to make sure he was with him in this, and he felt relieved when he nodded, even though he knew he would.  
  
"Then, what do we do?" Robin wondered, starting to get the anxious feeling as well. "Is it, like... immediate danger?"  
  
"I'd dare say so, dear, yes."  
  
"Absolutely yes."  
  
Oh, well. Both of them agreeing that many times in such a short period of time was really something to be worried about. Something about that made her thoughts kick into strategy mode, trying to sort out a way to fight against a danger which hadn't yet presented but would in no time, apparently. Even though they really didn't know what they'd confront this time. In Sanji's opinion, it'd be a big-ass storm, New World's style, obviously.  
  
"Isn't it about time we woke the sleeping beauty up?" Zoro grunted flatly. "This is her damn job."  
  
Sanji would've almost patted the Marimo's back for managing to refer to Nami with the term 'beauty' if it wasn't for the sarcastic wave in his voice that screamed 'sea witch' instead. So instead of that, he kicked his shin for good measure, gaining a surprised gasp from Zoro, who glared at him with killing intent. That had hurt, dammit.  
  
"I agree with our swordsman," Robin said matter-of-factly. "Just in case. Even if she's in a weakened state, a little bit of expert advice wouldn't do us any harm, would it?"  
  
Now she was looking at Sanji since he was the only one to convince, but his expression told them he didn't need any more justifying either.  
  
"Yes, yes, I agree as well," he sighed. "We need her. But we can't let her make any extra efforts." His voice roughened when pronouncing the last words, making them understand that he'd do anything to make sure of that.  
  
The trio nodded at the same time, Zoro slightly pissed, Robin thoughtful and Sanji plainly worried that they had to bother Nami with that shit. But as soon as they came to terms with what to do, they were already heading towards the infirmary almost like a little army, Zoro leading the group. Once he stepped outside, though, he stopped for an instant before Sanji bumped into him, cursing him but then stopping as well when he realised what the marimo was paying attention to.  
  
"Oh my..." Robin muttered behind them.  
  
Sanji's eye widened and the anxious feeling of danger right there and then overwhelmed him. He'd seen it coming. But not that fast.  
  
"Shit."  
  
The sky was now rock grey, not a scratch of blue or white or any other color that dared break the solidity of the now menacing sky. It was fucking bright blue just a minute ago, how the hell had those clouds appeared and taken any sun ray away? Suddenly it was cold and the atmosphere was oppressing. Suddenly the sky seemed too close to them and too dark and solid for comfort.  
  
But still, no wind blowed.  
  
"What the actual..."  
  
"Hey!" Zoro shouted to get the rest of the crew's attention.  
  
"Wait!" Sanji ordered, catching him by the shoulder and turning the muscular body towards him only to face a stubborn surprised stare.  
  
"What now," the green haired inquired with an edge of threat in his voice.  
  
"Wait until we tell Nami," he explained himself, trying to control the urge to kick back inside the marimo's mouth any responses he could come up with against his point. Which said marimo was about to do with a frown before Robin cut in with a calm tone that ordered them not to start a stupid scene.  
  
"He's right, if she has any instructions to give us, we rather get the crew moving with them instead of blindly doing so and causing panic before we know how to go about it."  
  
"Heard her? You're so wise, Robin!"  
  
"Shut your curly face."  
  
"And what was that, Marimo?!"  
  
"What the hell? Why's the sky suddenly so grey?" a bubbly voice asked, not far away. "When did it get like this? Franky, is it gonna rain?"  
  
"And how should I know? I'm not our super navigator!"  
  
Sanji exchanged a quick look with Zoro, who frowned even deeper. The crew were gathering on deck, starting to wonder what was going on by themselves but apparently still oblivious of what was coming their way. Now they were both sure of it, they were about to be screwed by something they couldn't cut or kick, which was a remarkable problem considering that that was the only thing they could do against it. They were no Nami. Leave it to her to get them out of this kind of enemy. And that is why they needed her now.  
  
"Let's get this shit done," Zoro urged with a tight voice. Sanji nervously nodded, playing with his cigarette as a way of distracting himself. Zoro noticed his hand wasn't exactly steady which only served to worsen his already tense mood. He just hoped the cook would get a hold of himself. Hell, he trusted him to, but he had seen that look that same morning and he didn't know if or when the blonde's mask would shatter again. Last thing they needed right now was that, to be fair.  
  
He was taken away of his thoughts as Sanji rushed to the infirmary without giving him a second look with steady and quite confident steps, Robin following him and gesturing for Zoro to do the same.  
  
Chopper raised his head when he heard them coming in and faced them with surprised brown eyes that hid right away when turning to look at Nami, who was currently trying to weakly sit up with a hand clutching her hair and a pained look in her face.  
  
"Oi, sea witch, did you feel it too?" Zoro asked without waiting a blink, blunt as his swords.  
  
"I swear, Zoro, if you don't show her some fucking respect I'll-"  
  
"Yes, I've- I have felt it too..." Nami managed with a frown, her eyes still closed. "Something's off... What- what's going on?"  
  
Zoro looked at the ceiling for a moment while containing a deep sigh and felt the cook's eyes stuck on his face. When he slightly turned to look at him, he saw in his expression the same aggravated worry he was feeling himself. Well, it was no longer an hypothesis. If Nami had sensed it too, even when being drugged and numb, they were officially fucked up.  
  
"The sky is totally plumb grey," Robin explained when neither of them seemed to look for an answer outside of each other's eyes. "The wind just completely stopped blowing a while ago, and the sky was deep blue with no clouds anywhere to be seen before that. And now, in the blink of an eye, it has just turned like this. No wind is blowing yet."  
  
"Ugh... Damn... This is bad. Help me up," Nami ordered when she realized she couldn't get up by herself without falling face first to the ground. She mentally scolded herself. It wasn't time to be weak. She was sensing a change in the atmosphere she didn't like one bit. It definitely meant trouble and she had to be up to guide the crew through it. It was almost there, she could feel it. "Hurry up!"  
  
"Nami, darling, you can't," Sanji objected, finally leaving Zoro's eyes to approach the redhead with both hands extended in a concealing gesture that made it seem like he was about to touch fragile glass.  
  
"Shut up, Sanji, I'm fine," Nami cut him with a fiery glare. "Help me get up."  
  
"Seriously now, Nami, you can't in this condition, you'll only harm yourself more than I already-" this time it was himself who cut the sentence mid-air in a shallow gasp when he realised what he had been about to say. Definitely something he had promised the redhead not to mention. And she must have realized where his mind was going because she stabbed him with an angry dark look in her eyes telling him to shut up for good.  
  
Zoro looked at his back with the deepest scowl he'd been wearing all day. Rage had taken the best of him again and his hand twitched against the hilt of his swords as he did his best to keep his mouth shut and overlook the unfinished thought. Seriously now, this was beginning to get on his nerves. And he hadn't even seen the bastard's face when saying it. But, oh man, didn't he want to break things just by hearing the slightly wrecked voice that had momentarily slipped past Sanji's mask! Just... just... Agh!  
  
"Cook's right, you stay here and tell us what to do," he managed. And his own voice was so tense he feared it would break into a roar. He had to remind himself it wasn't time for that; they needed all of their brains clear and switched in the same direction to face their current problem. But really, if he had to hear or see or fucking feel Sanji being this self-despising and not Sanji one more time, he was just going to snap.  
  
"You both better shut up and help me," Nami growled at the same time she brought a hand to her forehead. Dammit, the painkillers got her good. "Robin?"  
  
"It's better if you just give us instructions, Nami," Robin said softly. But her eyes were mandatory.  
  
"But at least I have to see it!" she complained, now getting really upset.  
  
"Guys..." Chopper interrupted with a weak shy voice that exposed the fact that he felt like he was being excluded and didn't really want to interfere. That caught Zoro's attention first. He had always had a soft spot for the furry little reindeer, specially when he was like this. So he forced his scowl to vanish and gave him a soft look that encouraged him to go on. "What's going on? Are we in danger?"  
  
Sanji shut Zoro's answer down when he saw Nami's mouth struggling to mutter something. He got close to her lips to listen better, feeling there was something important she wanted to tell them but failing miserably as he didn't get a sound out of her.  
  
"Nami, dear, what is it? What are you trying to tell us?"  
  
He could see the effort she was putting in the way her frown creased and her lips kept moving with the hope something would come out of them. Drugs must be still having their effects on her.  
  
"-est.."  
  
"What was that again?" he encouraged her, rubbing a gentle circle on her shoulder with the palm of his hand.  
  
"W-..."  
  
Another frustrated silence and Sanji was seriously thinking of kicking Chopper to knock him out since he was apparently making a fuss behind him with Zoro trying to calm him down, which wasn't letting him properly hear what Nami wanted to say. Ugh, he really should contain those impulses, Chopper was, like, the most adorable thing in the world, not to mention their emergency food supply, so he definitely shouldn't be thinking of harming him no matter how on edge he was. He switched his attention to Nami again, getting frustrated.  
  
"Come o-"  
  
"West."  
  
"What?"  
  
"We need to sail west, we need to go west! West!" Nami screeched, suddenly panicking and trying to stand up by herself while pushing Sanji aside. "Guys, we have to immediately go w-!"  
  
Her sentence never made it completely through her parched lips as a sudden collision sent them all flying against the walls of the infirmary, Sanji barely catching Nami with protective hands to minimize her impact. He had to thank his gentleman instincts, they always seemed to be right. Well, not always- Shit! Can't start thinking about this now!  
  
Another heavy collision shook them and Robin had to hold them all against the wall with sprouting arms that pinned them tight against the wooden surface so that they wouldn't end up colliding against the opposite side of the infirmary. After that second shock, nothing was steady anymore.  
  
After that second collision, everything was chaos.  
  
TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi guys! Hope you've been liking the fic so far! I know, big cliffhanger hehe.. I'm sorry if the plot is being slow but I'm the kind who likes it to slowly develop and grow, specially when it comes to relationships and stuff like that! Let me know what you think! :D


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